Subspecific dialect differences in the Plain-tailed Wren (Pheugopedius euophrys), and behavioral implications

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Subspecific dialect differences in the Plain-tailed Wren (Pheugopedius euophrys), and behavioral implications Carlos Rodríguez1*, Eric Fortune2, Francesca Angiolani3, Ginette J. Hupe4, Ignacio Moore5, Melissa Coleman6 and Elisa Bonaccorso1 1 Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Ecuador 2 Johns Hopkins University, United States 3 Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Ecuador 4 University of Ottawa, Canada 5 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, United States 6 Claremont McKenna College, United States The Plain-tailed Wren sings a complex duet, in which male and females engage in a rapid exchange of alternating syllables with remarkable synchrony. However, there is considerable song variation among birds from the same population, and, more evidently, among birds of geographically isolated subspecies. Thus, a question arises as to how birds will perform against a partner that sings a version of the song that they may not have had the opportunity to learn. Taking advantage of the relative ease with which Plain-tailed Wrens duet in captivity, we paired wren from the same and different subspecies and recorded their songs. This set of experiments could give hints at the acoustic cues and behavioral interactions needed for engaging in a well sustained duet performance. Preliminary data on birds within the same subspecies, but different territories, at one location has already been gathered. There, one couple engaged in long duets within minutes of their presentation; but others (n = 3) took more time to initially engage in duet, and their performance improved over several days, delivering longer songs, with increased onset frequency. Motivation to engage in duet might be influenced by several factors in our experiments; however, once engaged, the birds may learn from each other in other to improve performance. Future experiments will include the observation of captive mixed couples from different subspecies; in this respect, preliminary results from playback experiments at two localities, one for each subspecies, are already showing that birds tend to be more responsive to recordings of their own dialect. Figure 1 Keywords: coordination, Dialect discrimination, Duetting behavior, Geographical variation, Pair-bonding, Song learning Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster (but consider for participant symposium and student poster award) Topic: Communication Citation: Rodríguez C, Fortune E, Angiolani F, Hupe GJ, Moore I, Coleman M and Bonaccorso E (2012). Subspecific dialect differences in the Plain-tailed Wren (Pheugopedius euophrys), and behavioral implications. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00429 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 03 May 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Mr. Carlos Rodríguez, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador, bio.carodrgz@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Carlos Rodríguez Eric Fortune Francesca Angiolani Ginette J Hupe Ignacio Moore Melissa Coleman Elisa Bonaccorso Google Carlos Rodríguez Eric Fortune Francesca Angiolani Ginette J Hupe Ignacio Moore Melissa Coleman Elisa Bonaccorso Google Scholar Carlos Rodríguez Eric Fortune Francesca Angiolani Ginette J Hupe Ignacio Moore Melissa Coleman Elisa Bonaccorso PubMed Carlos Rodríguez Eric Fortune Francesca Angiolani Ginette J Hupe Ignacio Moore Melissa Coleman Elisa Bonaccorso Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.